St. Pius X students enjoy visit from Cardinal Arinze

The students at St. Pius X Classical Academy and the parishioners at St. Pius X Church had a special guest to celebrate Mass on Friday, April 27: Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The cardinal, who was a key member of the Curia in the Vatican during the papacies of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, was visiting Nashville, and his appearance at St. Pius was arranged by Father Anthanasius Abanulo, who, like the cardinal, is from Nigeria.
“He wanted to create this once in a lifetime chance for the students to meet a cardinal and have Mass with a cardinal,” St. Pius X Classical Academy Principal Lori Patton said of Father Abanulo, who has been serving in the school this year.
Cardinal Arinze served as a mentor for Father Abanulo, Patton said.
The gospel for the Mass was a passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus tells St. Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
“Where do we meet Jesus?” Cardinal Arinze asked in his homily. “We meet him in the Scriptures. … We meet him in the Church. … We meet him in the sacraments … especially at holy Mass and the Eucharist. We meet Jesus in the sacrament of penance.”
At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Arinze shared with the students greetings from Pope Francis.
“It’s so incredible to have that blessing from the Vatican,” Patton said.
Photos by Andy Telli